Will nurse practitioners and physician assistants be there to the rescue when millions of U.S. citizens are granted health insurance coverage? How are hospitals taking initiative to help nurses reduce stress levels? Find out in the top nursing stories this week:

Hospitals Implementing Stress Relief Programs for Nurses

Hospitals are beginning to offer ways for nurses to relax and relieve stress. “Nurses are particularly at risk for becoming overwhelmed and depleted,” said Cynda Hylton Rushton, professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing. “We don’t provide the quality care we want to offer when we ourselves are depleted.” Read more from the Washington Post.

Healthcare Professionals Should Strive for Better Communication with Patients

When patients refuse to follow doctors’ orders, healthcare professionals often resort to intensifying the treatment process. “We have to be very careful not to blame the patients,” said Dr. Victor Montori. “A lot of the conversation (around patient engagement) has been, how do we get them to do stuff? To me, that’s not engagement.” Read more at MedCity News.

Affordable Care Act Will Put Nurse Practitioners and Physicians Assistants in the Spotlight

With the roll out of the Affordable Care Act, it’s projected that the patient-to-physician gap will widen dramatically. New research shows that patients are fine with seeing a nurse practitioner or physician assistant over physicians. “Particularly when there is a time trade off, patients will prefer to see an NP or PA rather than waiting to see a physician,” said Clese Erikson, who directs the Association of American Medical Colleges’ Center for Workforce Studies. More from the Washington Post.

Chamberlain Student Gets New Perspective on International Trip

Compassion and determination is what brought Chamberlain student Kiley Scott to participate in the International Nursing Service Project trip to Kenya this year. From helping to raise $500 to help fix a Kenya native’s broken leg, to conducting medical home visits, it gave Scott a different perspective on the world. “In the U.S., we would just go have the operation, but in Kenya the people just didn’t have the resources to get the care they needed,” said Scott. More from the Arlington Connection.

Slain Vietnam Army Nurse’s Heroic Story Brought to Life by Nine-Year-Old Girl

Nine-year old Jayde Murphy is helping keep the memory of Lt. Sharon Lane, 25-year old Army nurse who died in Vietnam, alive. “She worked hard while she was there (in Vietnam), 5 days a week, 12 hours a day. A lot of the other nurses there didn’t like helping the prisoners. Sharon didn’t mind…” said Murphy. Read more about her moving presentation at CantonRep.

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